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NBA Trade Rumors: 10 Teams That Should Trade For Blake Griffin

By Gerald Bourguet

December 21, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) moves the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
December 21, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) moves the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 22, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) dribbles on the baseline as New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) defends during the third quarter at Staples Center. The Clippers won 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports /

7. New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans should be shopping everybody not named Anthony Davis, even after climbing within 3.5 games of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Omer Asik has been the most notable player not living up to his offseason contract, Ryan Anderson becomes a free agent this summer, Jrue Holiday has also been limited by injuries and Tyreke Evans has been injury-prone and sporadic when healthy.

If the Pellies made the wise decision to blow it up, deal whatever assets they have to accumulate future picks and tank for a top-five selection to pair with the Brow for the future,  entering a potential Blake Griffin sweepstakes wouldn’t make as much sense. But if the Pelicans cling to this stubborn notion that making the playoffs is more helpful than a top-10 pick, this is one avenue they’d want to pursue.

The Clippers need additional playmakers for when Chris Paul takes a breather; enter Tyreke Evans, who, for all his flaws, is averaging 15.2 points and 6.6 assists per game while knocking down 38.8 percent of his attempts from three-point territory. If Evans isn’t a player the Clippers want, the Pelicans could always try this too:

The Clippers would need a power forward replacement in a Griffin deal; in either deal, Ryan Anderson would be a perfect fit with Doc Rivers’ new spread offense, fully transitioning Los Angeles into a Pistons-inspired offense with Jordan free to roam the middle. Anderson is a free agent this summer, but the Clippers would have cap space to re-sign him, and RyNo would benefit by getting great looks from one of the league’s best floor generals in Chris Paul.

Can you imagine teams trying to stop CP3-Jordan pick-and-rolls with Anderson and J.J. Redick flanking them on the wings? The Clippers would probably go back to being the league’s premier offense like they were last season.

For the Pelicans, they’d have an absolutely dynamic frontcourt duo of Blake Griffin and Anthony Davis for the long-term future. Griffin would move Davis to the 5-spot that needs to become more natural for him, and though Griffin would do little to help NOLA as the league’s sixth worst defense, the Brow figures to eventually become an anchor on that end anyway.

Both would be able to spread the floor from the midrange, and both are efficient attacking the rim. The Pelicans would avoid overpaying to keep Ryan Anderson this summer and though they’d need to include a couple of future draft picks to get the Clippers’ attention, they’d also be getting rid of Evans, who is rumored to be on the trade block.

However, this deal feels a bit one-sided, even with the Pelicans throwing multiple draft picks in there. Rivers doesn’t want a rebuild, and with Anderson’s poor defense and Evans’ roller coaster-like play, a trade like this probably wouldn’t be enough to catapult the Clippers into the true contender category where the Warriors and Spurs sit.

Next: No. 6

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